By Emmanuella Anokam
The Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) has called for renewed commitment to integrity, transparency and accountability to strengthen anti-corruption efforts across Nigeria and Africa.
Mrs Jane Onwumere, Head of the Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR) and IATT Secretariat, made the call on Friday in Abuja at a high-level seminar marking the 2026 African Anti-Corruption Day.
The seminar, organised by the IATT, is themed “Scaling Up the Promotion of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Actions Across Africa.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IATT is a coordinating forum of agencies with anti-corruption and accountability mandates.
The annual event, observed on July 11, commemorates the adoption of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and reaffirms Africa’s commitment to strengthening integrity and accountability.
In her address, Onwumere said integrity should not be confined to policies and institutions but should be reflected in the daily decisions and actions of individuals, organisations and public institutions.
She said the commemoration aligned with the African Union’s 2026 theme, which challenged governments, institutions, citizens and stakeholders to deepen integrity, strengthen accountability systems, promote ethical leadership and foster collaboration in combating corruption.
“More importantly, it challenges us to move beyond policies and institutions by embedding integrity in the everyday decisions and actions that shape our institutions, communities and society.
“Scaling up integrity and anti-corruption efforts requires moving beyond commitments to building transparent, accountable and effective systems.
“It demands strong institutions, robust accountability, empowered citizens and sustained multi-stakeholder collaboration,” she said.
Onwumere urged Nigerians to uphold the values of integrity, transparency and accountability and support initiatives aimed at strengthening anti-corruption institutions.
She also called for collective action against corruption and urged stakeholders to translate ideas generated during the seminar into concrete actions and sustainable systems that would strengthen transparency, accountability and good governance across the continent.
The TUGAR head commended the European Union/IDEA Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC II) Programme, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the MacArthur Foundation and the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) for supporting the event.
She also lauded the management and staff of the 22 agencies that made up the IATT for their commitment to advancing Nigeria’s anti-corruption agenda through inter-agency collaboration.
The seminar featured panel discussions and paper presentations on integrity, transparency, accountability and effective anti-corruption strategies.
Among those in attendance were representatives of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, and the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu.
Others included the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Mr Musa Sarkin-Adar, the Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, Dr Garba Dauda, and other development partners.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Abiemwense Moru